Moving Towards a New Copyright Bargain: Lecture by Rebecca Giblin
[PIJIP] Copyright laws are beset from every angle. They’re criticized for failing to recognize and reward creators, for blocking new forms of creativity, for limiting access to knowledge and for causing culture to be lost. Copyright’s fundamental structures were settled before the digital era, but are cemented in by outdated and effectively unamendable treaties. In this public lecture, Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow Rebecca Giblin illuminates a path forward to a new copyright bargain: one that, by taking authors’ interests seriously, would simultaneously reclaim lost culture, promote access to knowledge and help authors get paid – all within those unamendable treaty frameworks. Click here for more, or to watch the video.
Bargaining Failure and Freedom to Operate: Re-Evaluating the Effect of Patents on Cumulative Innovation
[Fabian Gaessler, Dietmar Harhoff and Stefan Sorg] Abstract: We investigate the causal effect of patent rights on cumulative innovation, using large-scale data that approximate the patent universe in its technological and economic variety. We introduce a novel instrumental variable for patent invalidation that exploits personnel scarcity in post-grant opposition at the European Patent Office. We find that patent invalidation leads to a highly significant and sizable increase of follow-on inventions. Click here for more.
Time to Act: International Action Needed on Exceptions and Limitations to Copyright for Libraries
[International Federation of Library Associations)] After years of IFLA engagement at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), discussions have reached a key moment. In three regional seminars, many countries asked for international action – a key priority for IFLA. A global conference will take place in October 2019 to make decisions on the way forward. Click here for more.
It’s Time For Congress To Go All In On Drug Pricing Reform
[John Arnold] … Comprehensive legislation must take concrete aggressive steps to close the loopholes that pharma exploits to maintain their monopolies. For instance, pharmaceutical companies abuse the patent system by obtaining additional patents on drug features that don’t actually change clinical effectiveness. They delay the launch of cheaper alternatives by withholding the samples generic companies need to develop cheaper versions. The industry also pays generic companies to delay the introduction of cheaper options, which is good for industry profits but terrible for patients. Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said it best at a recent event: “Monopolists will behave like monopolists, but that doesn’t mean we need to tolerate it.” Click here for more on HealthAffairs.org.
Intellectual Property Under the Scrutiny of Investor-State Tribunals: Legitimacy and New Challenges
[Clara Ducimetière] In 2009, C.S. Gibson was suggesting that: “With this early coverage of intellectual property in BITs, it is perhaps surprising that there has yet to be a publicly reported decision concerning an IPR-centered investment dispute. Given the trajectory of the modern economy, however, in which foreign investments reflect an increasing concentration of intellectual capital invested in knowledge goods protected by IPRs, this could soon change”. A couple of years later, the first investment cases dealing with IP issues were made public. Click here for more.
PIJIP to Host Book Talk by Margaret O’Mara – The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America
[PIJIP] How has Silicon Valley been able to produce so many market-disrupting and world-changing companies? What explains its dominance, generation after generation? And today, why does it seem to be unable to change its ways—whether in tackling data privacy, stopping the spread of toxic content on its platforms, or balancing its sharp racial and gender imbalances? In THE CODE: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America, Margaret O’Mara, one of our most consequential historians of the American-led digital revolution, proves that Silicon Valley’s surprising history can unlock the answers to all of these questions. PIJIP will host a talk by O’Mara on September 17 at 6pm EST. The talk will be webcast live. Click here for more.
